HOSPITAL LIBRARY-SERVICE AND THE CHANGES IN NATIONAL STANDARDS

Two important sets of standards affecting hospital libraries were sign ificantly revised in 1994, those of the Medical Library Association (M LA) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizati ons (JCAHO). As part of its continuing efforts to monitor library serv ices within its region, the University of California, Los Angeles Biom edical Library, Regional Medical Library for the Pacific Southwest Reg ion of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) conducted a survey in late 1994, in part to determine the effects of these revi sed standards on regional hospital libraries. Data from the survey wer e also used to provide a view of hospital libraries in the Pacific Sou thwest region, and to make comparisons with similar data collected in 1989. Results showed that while libraries remained stable in overall n umber, size, and staffing, services, especially those associated with end-user searching and interlibrary loan, increased enormously. With r espect to the MLA standards, results show a high compliance level. Int eresting differences were seen between the perceptions of library staf f concerning their rate of compliance with the JCAHO standards and the ir actual compliance as measured by the MLA criteria. While some libra ries appear to measure up better than their own perceptions would indi cate, others may not be fully aware of their actual compliance level.